Men in Black back next year

Activision prepping "genre bending" sci-fi game for spring 2012 release on unspecified platforms; title to hit alongside next feature film in series.

After nearly a decade on the sidelines, the alien-busting Men in Black franchise is coming back to games. Activision today announced that the new Men in Black game will land alongside the third Men in Black film in spring 2012 for consoles and handhelds.

Activision said the new entry in the series looks to deliver "genre bending" action gameplay with shooting elements, while retaining the lighthearted tone and Hollywood production values of the films. Although the game is set to launch alongside the film, its story will be original, featuring "familiar faces" and new adversaries to the MIB universe.

Men in Black is in development at Fun Labs, the studio behind the Cabela and Rapala series and the Activision Value label. The Romanian studio was also behind 2009's Chaotic Shadow Warriors and 2001's Secret Service.

Men in Black's last outing on consoles was in 2002's Men in Black: Alien Escape on the PlayStation 2. That project was developed by Melbourne House and published by Infogrames. For more on the game, check out GameSpot's review of Men in Black: Alien Escape.